Wat Makutkasattriyaram

Operating day: Daily 

Operating time: 08.00 - 17.00 

 

Wat Makutkasattriyaram ( Wat Makutkasat ) is situated on Phadung Krung Kasem Road and the canal of the same name, near Rachadamnoen Nok Road. When the construction of the Phradung Krung Kasem Canal was completed as the outer moat of the city, King Rama IV wished to have temples built along its banks as had been done in Ayutthaya .

 

Thus he had a temple constructed as companion to Wat Somanasvihara. This temple was completed in 1868 and was originally called Wat Nam Banyad. At the end of the reign the temple was renamed Wat Makutkasattriyaram, which was the royal style and title of King Rama IV.

 

Wat makutkasat and Wat Somanasvihara are the only two temples in Rattanakosin District that have two rings of sema, or boundary stones. The first ring, called the maha sima, is placed in inches in the temple walls, while the second ring, called the khantha sima, surrounds the phra ubosot. In temples that have two rings of sema, the monks can perform religious ceremonies in both the phra ubosot and the phra vihara.

 

Important buildings include the phra vihara and the phra ubosot. The gables and on the door and window frames are decorated with the royal crown which was the insignia of King Rama IV.

 

The numerous murals inside the phra ubosot differ from those found in other temples in that they depict scenes from stories in Pali about the Buddha's disciples, commentaries from stories of 11 chief male disciples and the 9 chief female disciples, and illustration of meditation techniques, commandments to observe and so forth, Khmer incantations are inscribed on the door and window panels.